One in Infinity
by Belak Earth Guard
Summary: The story of a wander lost in Skylands who finds something he didn't even know he was missing. No author's notes on this. Please reveiw and tell me what you think. This is A fictious version of the story of the actual relationship between myself and Life Strong
1. Part I

_Dark. He hated the dark. He reached out to try and fine a light but couldn't even extend his arm half way. A small enclosed space, even worse. He tried to call out, but he was muted somehow. Silence, the final of his great fears. He did not fear these things simply because the were, he feared them because when put together, they make one truly alone. He feared being alone more than anything, and he was alone. Then, suddenly, just as he began to give up hope, he woke up._

«^»«^»«^»

"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Said a voice.

"What do you care?" I answered with a snap.

"I care because I'm you," the voice said again.

I looked around, no one was there. Then I sighed and rubbed my eyes and I saw three figures by where I had slept. Those three were almost always the only company I ever had, but in truth they were only voices in my head; parts of a split personality that developed their own minds. I sighed again, another day by myself Then again, I suppose I wasn't all alone. These three were physical and real as long as they wanted to be and I was awake. But they were still just aspects of myself, and gave no sense of a different person being there with me

"Sorry I snapped, B." I sighed, "sometimes I just forget you guys are you guys."

"It's alright." B smiled. He was sort of the leader of the trio, he had once simply been my courage. He looked like a stronger and better looking version of myself, though he had a scar that ran acros his face at a diagnol, going right between his eyes. "You always get snappy after a nightmare."

"Who wouldn't?" Xirc, laughed. Xirc was once the madness in my mind but was now a four armed pitch black creature that seemed made for killing but in truth would never hurt a fly, or at least not anymore: I had managed to sprt of tame him a while ago "nightmares suck."

"It always seems to be the same, though," said Sage, who looked like nothing more than three dimension piece of night sky shaped to look like a being with six arms like a hindu god. He had two extremely bright yellowish stars for eyes but lacked other facial features, "your good dreams have that girl with the color shifting eyes, and your nightmares have you experiencing the three stages of lonelyness."

"Maybe my brain is more messed up than I thought?" I suggested with a shrug, Sage knew almost everything that happened in my mind, that was his job.

"We should get moving," B said suddenly, peering out into the woods around the area where I had slept, "you were alseep for almost a full day, somebody'll find us if we don't get going."

"Right, don't want a repeat of last time somebody found us" I sighed getting up and cracking my back.

"Why's everybody after us anyway?" Xirc said, that was about the five millionth time he'd asked that in the past six years: the entire time we'd been on the run.

"Because they're all curious anout how you guys exist," I sighed, "and it's about a halfway split between them being afraid of me and wanting that weird power they think I have."

"That you DO have," Sage said, "if you didn't, we wouldn't exist and you wouldn't have survived that explosion six years ago."

"Oh, like this is so much better than dying," I grumbled, "and just because I'm super lucky doesnt mean I have that weird power or whatever."

Sage started to retort when B called out "Something's coming!" I turned, readying crude but useable sword I had forged myself, ready to fight. But instead of an enemy, a group of stampeding animals charged into the area I was. I couldn't react fast enough and they plowed over me, knocking me down and beating the consciouness out of me, which caused the three others to vanish in flashes of light. My eyes shut as an ferocious looking predetor ran past, clearly the reason the others were running as well, but it had an odd look of terror in its eyes. Then I blacked out.

Then I hear a voice "Oh god. Wake up, please wake up. All I wanted to do was stop the predator from hurting children. I had no idea it would cause that stampede!" The voice sounded worried. Must be talking to somebody else, "please wake up, I couldn't bear it if I killed anyone."

I opened my right eye, my draconic eye; orange and slit pupiled, capable of seeing far better than that of any bird of prey. I opened it just enough for me to look around with it being noticed and I search around for the person talking and whoever they're talking to. Then I look up, there's a girl standing over me, she's the one talking. That's weird, I think to myself, somebody actualy worried about me. Then I notice her eyes, they're changing color as I look at them. I gasp and both eyes shoot fully open and I shuffle back a few feet and sit up.

"Oh thank god," she sighed quietly, "are you alright?"

"Y-yes..." I say tenatively, "who..."

"That's great. I was worried you'd died and it was my fault." She smiled at me, "my name's Annabelle, by the way."

"Why...why did you..." I asked, still a little dazed.

"Because you were hurt and I technically caused it. Who are you anyway?" She questioned, looking a bit confused.

"To be perfectally honest," I said quietly, "I don't know."

"You don't know your name?" She asked. She looked sad. I always hated it when people were sad, it always made me feel like I did something to make them that way, so I did my best to make people happy. Not to mention, for some reason seeing her sad made me want to make her as happy as possible. It was unusual, But not unpleasant.

"I know my name just fine," I said, "I said I don't know who I am."

"Isn't your name who you are?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Yes and no." I responded with a slight look, "a name is simply a title. Not to mention, I have quite a few names. And none of them are really who I am."

"Oh..." she looked at the ground slightly for a moment, "why were you out here all alone?"

"He wasn't alone, persay," said a voice I sighed and rubbed my eyes again, and the trio popped up again.

"You guys have GREAT timing, you know that?" I sighed.

"Who are they?" The girl asked. I gave her a look.

"You can see them too?" I said, baffled. I had been convinced they were haloucinations.

"Of cousre I can see them, why wouldn't I?" Sheasked. I was stunned. Did that mean other people had been able to see them? I had never tested it, though to be fair they could interact with actual object so people probably weren't that far of a stretch.

"They're sort of pieces of me." I responded slowly, "sort of like the angel and devil on one's shoulders. Except there's three of them and they don't exactly tell me right and wrong."

"We're just here to keep him from going any crazier," B nodded.

"Speak for yourself, I'm here to keep him wacky." Xirc laughed.

She looked at the three of them and poked Xirc lightly with a stick.

"Don't worry, we're real," Xirc laughed, "as long as boss man over there's awake that is."

"There are other conditions to our lasting reality," Sage said, "but Eskalebir's consciousness is the primary one."

"Eskalebir?" The girl asked, "is that your name?"

"It's the one I most prefer to be called, yes." I answered slowly, "however it is also the one I use the least."

"Why don't you use it if you prefer it?" she said. It was obvious that I was constantly confusing her more, but there was something else in her voice. Intrigue, almost.

"Because it's the one that comes closest to being who I am, my true name even, if I were to guess" I said, almost smiling for some reason, "and it usualy isn't the best idea to let too many people know your true name."

"Oh sorry!" she said, with a slight gasp, "I'll make sure to forget it if you want."

I laughed, a happy wholehearted laugh. I hadn't done that in six years.

"It's fine," I said with a slight grin, "the only people who know my true name are here right now. Just as long as don't tell anybody else, there won't be a problem."

"Or we'll probably have to kill you," Xirc said.

"Not nescesarily. It just wouldn't be good for us." Sage said.

I stood up and cracked my back again. Why was I always so sore?

"Alright, so I can call you Eskalebir, but what if I need to talk to somebody else about you?"

"Don't," B said curtly.

"Rude much?" she said giving him a look.

"What he means is that people tend to try and kill us," Xirc laughed, "alot. Whenever they find us."

"So it's just easier for us if you don't tell anybody" I added with a nod, "we'd better get moving I have a feeling I was out for about an hour there."

"And you slept for about twenty hours before," B said, "and the newest bounter hunter squad Kaos sent was about twenty four hours behind us yesterday. Which means we have three hours to get out of here."

"Did you say Kaos?" the girl asked.

I nodded "He tends to want us dead more than everybody else, makes sense considering we've humiliated him a few times." I picked up the sword I had made. Something had stepped on and broken it, "firecrackers. Already need a new one. No matter, gonna have to get on without it until we get a couple days ahead. Well guys, we're on the move."

B nodded and Xirc gathered up the few things that we always carried with us, removing any trace we had been there in about five minutes.

"Where are you going?" The girl asked plainly.

"Someplace not here," I sighed, we never had a plan, we just ran.

"Can I come with?" she asked.

"W-what?...n-no..." I said, confused, "thanks for caring wether or not I was dead, though. Not...not many people would given two hoots either way. Most wouldn't have been nice enough to even notice me lying there."

"But why can't I..." she started, looking sad again. The look on her face made me feel terrible.

"Look, you're nice and all, no idea why you'd want to go ith me, but it's a bad idea," I explained, "those three only do because they don't have a choice. And further more, they're only alive because they just go back into whatever plane of nonexistance they reside in instead of dying."

"But..." She said again.

"No buts." I sighed. She had been nicer to me than anyone else had ever been, and something in me despised dispointing her, but I was alone in the world, half by need because the world hated and shunned me, and half by choice because it hated anyone I travelled with. I nodded at my trio of followers and Xirc shouldered our bag of things and B began leadin the way. Sage lingered back a bit and turned to the girl.

"You know...there is a loophole he would allow you to exploit" He said to her quietly, "but first, why DO you want to go with us anyway?"

"My lie isn't good here..." she answered quietly. He just nodded.

"Say no more," Sage said, and handed her a folded piece of paper. He went to catch up with us as she unfolded and read it with a smile.

a few minutes later she was walking beside me. My heart inexplicably leapt at the sight of her, but still I turned to her with a stern look.

"I told you," I began but she cut me off.

"We're not travelling together, we just happen to be going the same way at the same time." she said with a smirk.

I sighed and shook my head, giving an exasperated look on the outside, but on the insdie, I was smiling.


	2. Part II

_Dark, a closed space, silence, alone. Again. He felt his breathing get ragged, though it was silent because he had been muted again. He despised being alone, it horrified him more than anything else in the world. He hated it because it meant there was noone to help him when he needed it, and he almost always needed help: the world tried to kill him and he had gone mad because of it.__ He was scared, and loosing hope; this was going to be his tomb. Suddenly, he heard a voice. "You're not alone" he felt somebody take his hand in_ _theirs_._ He turned, and he saw a light. He smiled, and then he woke up._

«^»«^»«^»

I woke up and heard the rain outside the small cave we had slept for the night, we would have slept outside but we had known it was going to rain. I glanced over and saw Annabelle sleeping about three yards away from where I was. Twelve days now she had been travelling with us. I hadn't tried to stop her after the second day, and I knew she wouldn't let me if I did. I looked at the mouth of the cave and saw Sage standing there, staring at the rain. I went over to him.

"You've been able to stay out while I sleep lately," I observed as I joined him.

"I always have, to be perfectally honest," he said, "the other two have as well. It was never very difficult before, but it's become easier."

I nodded and looked at him, "don't think about leaving me know, though," I laughed quietly.

"I can't, it is my duty to keep your mind in working order," he said with a slight humming noise, "and you know as well as I that the other two wouldn't, even though they were only made to keep you company, and you don't need them for that anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, tilting my gestured lightly with one hand back into the cave.

"Her." He said.

"Her?" I asked, a look of confusion came to my face.

"She is a friend, is she not?" he asked.

"Oh, that's what you meant," I said, the look going away, "...yes, I suppose so."

"Exactly," he nodded, then he looked at me, "but there is one thing." Those star eyes seemed to pierce through me.

"I know your true emotions, you know I do," he said, "and I know you are aware of them as well. You're going to have to admit them sometime..."

"But..." I began, but he lifted up a hand to stop me.

"But you do not need to yet." He said, finishing his earlier statement. His tone of voice suggested he would be smiling at me if he were able to.

"I've been talking to her, you know," he sighed after a moment, "her life was horrid before she met you. A tortured soul it seems, kindred to your own. She seems to find some sort of comfort in you. Which makes sense, seeing as how kind to her you've been."

"That's how I try to be to everyone with a good heart," I said, "and everything I give her, she tries to make me take back: I still have to re convince her to use the only blanket every night..."

"You want her to be safe..." Sage said slowly.

"Of course I do." I said, then paused a moment, "I couldn't have her injured on my watch."

"There's more than that, isn't there?" Sage questioned.

I looked at him, I was almost mad for a second but then I just sighed. "There might be, but I just don't know."

"Fair enough..." Sage nodded. At that moment B came walking up."

"It's gonna stop raining soon." He muttered, sitting next to us, "we should get moving as soon as it does. Should I wake her up so she's ready?"

I looked up at the sky. I could see the edge of the clouds not too far off from where we were, but not moving quickly. I checked the tops of the trees, the wind was slow. I turned back to B.

"She can sleep for another hour," I said with a nod, "that'll give us about fifteen or twenty minutes before the rain stops, and we'll need to wait about ten minutes after it stops anyway so make sure it doesnt start up again."

B nodded and went back to the back area of the cave. I noticed that he had been playing cards with Xirc back there. So they'd been awake for a while as well, they were spending alot more time outside my mind, and I to stopped for a moment to wonder why it had become easier as Sage said. I shrugged it off and pulled out the small pocket notebook and a pencil and started to draw.

After an hour had passed, Sage woke her up and said it was time to pack up. After she had done as told, she came over to me as I was still just drawing.

"You didn't need to let me sleep in." She said.

"We had a while to wait before we could leave anyway," I answered, "figured I may as well have let you sleep instead of making you wait."

"That's considerate, but you don't need to," she started, I cut her off, but not rudely.

"Yes I do," I said with a slight smile, "it's how I am."

"It's who you are too, you know. A part of it anyway," she retorted politely, then she looked at the sky, "do you think we should get moving? It looks like it's going to stop raining soon."

"Maybe you're right," I whispered quietly, then looked up for a moment; we were ahead of schedule. The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle but we still had about fiffteen minutes give or take, before it stopped; we could wait. But something in my chest told me we needed the extra time, I could tell it was a feeling I had experienced before but I couldn't quite put my finger on it, "yeah I suppose we should. A little rain won't hurt anybody."

I didn't tell anyone about my gut feeling, but I gave Sage a slightly worried look when I said we were heading out. He nodded and as we went him and the other two seemed more alert than normal but they made sure they didn't do anything to tip off Annabelle of the unease, though I could tell she felt something was up despite the efforts. But she didn't notice it from us, she noticed from the sense of the air as we walked.

But everything seemed quiet, even with that strange air of danger. Then, when we were finally starting to feel safe, I realised what that feeling in my stomach was just as I heard a rustle in the bushes.

"B, give me the things," I said quietly, and when he looked at me with a questioning look I simply tapped my gut and made an X over my heart, his eyes widened and he nodded and pulled out a small bundle and handed it to me, "thanks. Make sure she's safe, by the way."

I nodded and took the bundle and looked around. That's when it happened. A person with a large and threatening looking sword jumped out out of the bushes. they were dressed in the black unifrom of an earth SWAT unit, except for his head which wore a visored viking helm. He seemed rather confused as to which time period he was supposed to be from, but he held that sword of his like his skilled with it, maybe not a master but quite close. Clearly this was gonna be fun.

I smiled as I undid the bundle B had handed me and lifted out the contents. The Clawbeams, my old goto weapons: two crowbar like, perfectally balanced white metal bars, each about three feet long with leather bound grips, each around five inches long, and shaprened clawlike hooks at the tips, about six and a half inches in length if you measured along the length of the curves, four inches if you measured in distance from where they met the rest of the bar. I smiled, I had been waiting for an excuse to use these again. Swords were all well and good, but I only ever really carried one for hacking underbrush and for the fearfactor. But the Clawbeams, in the hands of an amatuer they were all but useless, luckily I was a master with them, and most other weapons for that matter.

"get a safe distance away, he's after me and won't chase you," I said to those with me, "you especially get someplace safe, Annabelle." She was about to protest when I gave a sort of pleading look and she somberly went with into the woods. Then I turned to my enemy.

"So, you certainly hold that blade like you know how to use it, care to show me your skill?," I grinned, "or are you all bark and no bite?"

"My my," the warrior said with a stone cold voice, "Lord Kaos DID say you were rather irritating. No wonder he said to to remove your tounge before presenting your head to him."

He swung his sword at a moderate pace. He was testing my reflexes. I laughed mentall and purposely made sure to only just barely block his strike. He laughed.

"A bit slow for all the stories about you," the warrior laughed.

"I am feeling pretty sluggish," I falsely admitted.

He was already begining to underestimate me. His stroke were slow and he acted like he was toying with me, like I wasn't wortha real fight. I had him right where I wanted. Suddenly, instead of the slow blocking and hugely inacurate swoops I had been doing, I parried his next strik and used one clawbeam to tear his sword out of hid hand while the other ripped his legs out from beneath him.

"Tell Kaos he should send somebody smart enough not to underestimate me next time," and with that I locked both clawbeams together, they were designed to do so for easy storage and to be used as a heavier more reinforced weapon, and whopped the moron on the the helmet as hard as I good a good three times, "idiot. Just like his boss. You can come out now."

She came out of a srhub less than fifteen feet away. She had been watching.  
>"You played him," she said with a smile jumping up and down slightly, "and you won."<p>

I smiled and shook my head, "didn't I tell you to go further away?"

"I couldn't miss that," she smiled. I liked seeing that smile. I was lost in it for a moment when suddenly I heard the click. I whipped around and saw the bounty hunter standing. Of course he had a padded helmet, what idiot didn't these days. Then I looked at his hand and saw what he was holding. Crossbow. Then I noticed it wasn't pointed at me. Her.

He pulled the trigger and the world slowed, I ran, then I jumped. The hunter fled as I fell, a crossbow bolt now protruding from my chest.

"You...you saved me..." she stammered, unbelieving.

"Of course..." I smiled slightly, "I wouldn't let you get hurt on my watch."

Sage, B, and Xirc came running up.

"It really did happen again," B sighed.

"He won't die from the wound, there is not much in this world that could kill him," Sage said, "but if he doesn't get proper treatment he may as well be dead."

"I think I might no a place we could go for help," she said, then she looked me dead in the eyes and said, " please be okay, Eskalebir. Please"

"I'll be fine," I said, my head getting cloudy, then I muttered somewhat dazed, "you have beautiful eyes, anyone ever tellyou that?"

I saw her blush then I blacked out.


	3. Part III

_He was sitting on a hillside. The stats where out and He gazed up at them happily. After a moment he yawned quietly and heard another voice yawn beside him. He turned and saw a girl with color changing eyes smiling at hin_. _He smiled back, those eyes truly were beautiful. Far better than his mismatched ones: one normal and brown and one draconic and orange. He shurgged off the thought and gazed into her eyes a little longer. Then he had an idea, but before he could carry it out, he felt a pain in his chest and woke up_

«^»«^»«^»

"Gya! Crossbow!" I said, waking up and sitting bol upright. The bolt was gone and the wound had healed. That was normal, the wound always healed for me. What wasn't normal was how good it felt, like it had been treated, and that I was in an actual medical facility. Then I heard a voice.

"You're up!" Annabelle said, getting up from a seat by the bed I was on and hugging me. I could tell by the way she acted that she had spent the entire time I was out in that seat. And I could tell by the way I felt I had been out for about sixty hours. Two and a half days.

"I'...uh...not exactly a hugger..." I said somehwat awkwardly, she gave me an embarrassed look and let go but I smiled gently. I didn't lie, I wasn't much of a hugger, but a part of me had enjoyed that, "it's alright, though, you were worried."

"You were shot in the chest!" She said, "how could I not be?"

"Fair enough," I laughed.

"Now then," she said, a slight blush coming to her face, "you said something before you blacked out...did you mean it?"

"I said I'd be fine," I smiled, trying to understand what she was talking about, then it came to me, "and I also said you have beautiful eyes..."

She nodded and looked at me expectantly. I opened my mouth, then shut it again. Just when I figured out a good neutral answer, I looked into her eyes. So bright, so colorful, so...beautiful.

"Yes," I said after a moment, "I did mean it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go look at where I currently am to figure out where exactly it is."

"Alright," she said slowly, "I'll just gather up the stuff of ours that's here."

I got up and started to go. She looked somewhere between embarrassed, sad, and happy and it all just came out as confused. I looked around and gave her a quick peck of a kiss on the cheeck.

"That's for looking after me, and I know you did." I smiled slightly as I walked out. She was blushing brightly, almost like she was sort of in shock, but she was also smiling.

I grinned a bit and walked out of the medical facility and looked around. I sighed a bit exasperatedly. Skylanders Acadamy. Where else would we be. Most people would think that I would be relieved to be here because the Skylanders help people. But the thing was, most people wanted me gone in someway or another, and residents of Skylands are prone to exagerate. That and I had beat down and robbed a few Skylanders that I had met in the past. Long story there. But basically, the Skylanders and I did not have the best track record. I looked down as I walked and hoped nobody would recognise me except Xirc, B, and Sage if they were around.

They were, right outside the medical area. I breathed a slight sigh of relief that they had found me first.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, somewhat annoyed.

"That bounty hunter was going to get reinforcements," Sage said calmly, "and that crossbow shot got you in the heart, without proper scientific and magical medical treatment, you would have been bedridden for weeks, and I can tell you for a fact we wouldn't have survived the first day with you incapacitated and a squad of hunters on our tail."

"Fine, fine." I admitted, "they recognised me yet?"

"Yeah, we sort of have," said a voice, coming closer. I recognised that voice in a rather unhappy way. Hot Head came walking up, with Stealth Elf, Terrafin, and Slam Bam. Half of the entirety of the team if Skylanders I had essentially mugged. The bad tempered half to boot, and they seemed to be in a bad mood.

"Right..." I said slowly, then swallowed nervously, "well, we gotta go now. I'll just gather up my things, and my friends, and we'll..."

"I'm afriad, that's not gonna work that way," Stealth Elf said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, nervously, "you help people, I'm a people, you helped me, now I get to leave right?"

"No." Said Slam Bam.

"See, we want a rematch," Terrafin grinned, "arena rumble."

I sighed. The arena battles were magically modulated to ensure there was no deaths, but there were alwasy accidents, and I had a feeling these four were itching to cause one.

"Look, I would loove to help you guys repair your egos or whatever it you want to do," I said, giving a nervous smile, "but I don't have my weapons, and don't you think four against one is a bit unfair?"

Slam Bam tossed me my clawbeams and Hot Head gestured to Xirc, B, and Sage.

"Oh, right," I said with a nervous chuckle, "let's go, then I guess."

The four of them smiled. On the inside, I did as well. because even though I had beat them singlehandedly before, where there had been four more of them, but I had still managed to make them underestimate me, just like all my other oponents.

It was I ploy I used; making myself seem weak and powerless, which wasn't hard considering I was a skinny, fidgety weed of a boy with messy, dark brown hair and my strange, mismatched eyes. The scariest thing about me was my height, around six foot five, and that isn't too frightening on a twig of a human. However, that was only my physical appearance, as far as skill, cunning, and tactics went, I was a master. Not to mention, I was about twenty times stronger and faster than one would guess by looking at me. Long story short, I looked easy to beat, but in truth was far from such. I was a fighter, though I did not look it.

And I had managed to hook these three into a fight. It was true, I hadn't wanted to fight, at least not openly. That would get the other Skylanders on my case. But an arena battle, those were prearanged. And I had three partners by my side, whom I had been training with for six years. We were ready, but then came more voices.

"Stop being crazy, the guy took a crossbow bolt to the chest," everyone in Skylands knew that voice; Spyro, "he'll probably barely be able to talk, let alone fi..." That's when he noticed me, standing outside the medical bay with no support.

"How..." He said slowly, staring at me.

Whirlwind, Grim Creeper, Drobot, and Pop Fizz were with him. All on medic duty, no doubt, probably here to help with my wounds. I forgot not many people knew about my healing rate.

"Scans indicate all wounds on patient to have healed perfectally, and may even be more physically sound than before he was wounded. Memory data tells that the projectile which wounded the subject pierced the heart," Drobot said after a quick look, "Records show that only mild amounts of medicinal treatment have been applied. Statistics suggest that even with maximum aount of treatment applied constantly it would take the subject's wounds at least a time of aproximatly one hundred-eight hours more to have healed to the point to which they have already have."

"Drobot, that's great and all, but what does it mean?" asked Pop Fizz, taking a swig of soda.

"It means that I have a extrordinary healing rate," I said, purposely cutting the back of my hand just slightly with oneof my clawbeams to show them as it closed up and healed almost instantly, "major or very deep wounds, like a crossbow bolt to the heart, take longer to heal due to bloodloss and infections; without proper treatment for the wounds it can take up to a week to fully recover. but you guys clearly did a good job, considering I'm up. Though I am rather partched"

"Here," Pop Fizz said, offering me a bottle of soda, "and don't worry, it's just rootbeer."

"Epic, thanks," I smiled, taking the bottle and in turn a swig. I put the bottle in a small latch on my belt that I had for just such an occasion. At that moment Annabelle came out of the medical bay. She noticed all the Skylanders giving me strange looks and stood close to me, almost protectively. I liked having her close to me, I felt stronger somehow. I smiled at her slightly and assured her it was okay. Then I turned back to the Skylanders

"May we go now?" I asked calmly with a friendly smile.

"Sure," Spyro said as something in his face changed, "but first, Stealth Elf tells me you did say you would participate in an arena battle."

"Oh, that, see I was just trying to," I started but was cut off.

"No need to explain," he said with a slight smile, "it's just these four, along with the others from that team you fought, really seemed to want to settle something, and it would be good for seeing how healthy you are. Besides, if you win, you could consider yourselves and the Skylanders even, both for any wrongs you've done and for the medical care."

I was caught: I couldn't back out now, I could tell he wouldn't let me and even if he did let me, I basically had eight moderatly influential Skylanders mad at me, and probably medical debts. I shrugged, I would win anyway. Then I looked at Annabelle, and saw worry in her eyes.

"You know, Spyro," I said after a long moment, "I'd rather not."

"Alright, I was joking anyway," he said

"Cruel joke," I snarled slightly, my right eye glowing slightly brighter and smoke rising nostrils. I noticed and shook my head and the moment passed. Couldn't let see that side of me. Not now and not here, anyway. Spyro noticed but said nothing.

"Would you like an escort to wherever it is you're going?" He asked.

"That's the fun part," I smiled, "we never know."

"Well, you're alwasy wecome here," he added as we left, "though I doubt you'll be coming back."

When we were out of earshot Buzz turned to him.

"They were portal masters, those two, weren't they?" He asked the dragon.

"Maybe," Spyro answered slowly, "but it almost seemed like they were something more..."

"What do you mean, 'something more'?" Buzz questioned, "What's 'more' than a portal master?"

"There are a few things..." Spyro said, " not many but a few..."

«^»«^»«^»

We were sitting around a small campfire later that night when Annabelle turned to me.

"Back there when you got mad..." she asked hesitantly, "what was that?"

"Something I don't show much," I said somewhat coldly, then I looked at her and sighed, "I'm sorry, I just can't tell people. I was told that I couldn't reveal it 'until the time is right'. And so far it just doesn't feel right."

"That's okay," she smiled slightly, "I'll just wait untill it is."

I looked at her, half happy, half confused.

"You would stay with me, possibly forever, just to find that out?" I asked.

"That's part of it," she admitted, "but I would anyway just because you're my friend and because you're nice."

"That's alot nicer than anything anyone's really said to me besides these three here. Over time, I numbed to it, my heart became sort of cold, icy" I said quietly, and added even quieter, "I became incapable of love..."

"Why not? You're incredible, people should be nice to you," she said with a slightly yawn, "and there'll be somebody who can warm your heart, somebody for you to love. I know it."

Then she lay down where she had been sitting and fell alseep. I sighed quietly and glanced over at Sage. He wasn't looking at me, but I remembered his words from the other day: 'you'll have to confess your true feelings sooner or later. When the time is right.' I looked around and whispered, very, very qietly into her ear.

"I love you."


	4. Part IV

_The sun was setting on the horizon, but the moon was already in the sky, bright and full. He enjoyed to watch the sunset, because when the sun was gone the stars began to come out. The thought of the stars' beauty made him think about her, the one that had thawed his frozen heart. He longed to say the words he wanted to say, loud enough for her to hear, loud enough for the world to hear. But he didn't. he couldn't, not yet. He felt an aching between his shoulders and a strange heat in his throat. He knew how to ease these pains and longed to do so. but he didn't. He couldn't, not yet. He sighed, someday soon he would stop waiting and show his true self. Someday soon..._

«^»«^»«^»

I woke up earlier than I normally did. I looked around. It must have been cold last night, the air had that chill to it. But I didn't feel cold. I never really did, but there was something else. Then I realised I was laying on some of the still warm coals from the fire. I dusted off a bit, making sure my clothes hadn't burnt. They hadn't, thankfully.

But they would have if I had slept on the where actual fire had been, but I had just moved some of the coals underneth me while I slept. I don't know why I did that, but I did alot. Then I noticed another reason I was warm: there, still deep alseep next to me, sharing the blanket with me and less than three feet away from me, was Annabelle.

I fought the urge to kiss her. I was afraid she may not feel the same about me as I did about her. I was scared she might wind up hating me if I told her my feelings. It had been about twelve years since I had last felt anything even close to this feeling and I didn't want to risk loosing the one who caused it. She was generous and seemingly unaware of my hopeless devotion to her.

Two months now we had been traveling together, and each day I had grown to love her more. But I still was afraid. I sighed quietly and carefullyshifted myself, and the coals I had slept upon, away from her and out from the blanket. Then I got up and looked around. Sage was meditating on the other side of the fire. I could only tell mecause the stars that were his eyes were dim and almost none existant, the only sign that he had his eyes closed. But closed eyes did not mean sleep, especallywth Sage, who never really slept.

"Xirc and B are having a look around," Sage said slowly, "they're getting that feeling."

"What feeling?" I asked, I had a idea what he meant, though I hoped I was wrong.

"**That** feeling, " Sage said again giving me a slight look.

For some reason that confused me more. I felt like I knew what he meant, but I had a feeling his meaning was different than what I thought. I sighed and shurgged, sitting down and taking a swig of soda from the bottle on my belt. I had met up with Pop Fizz again and made a deal for a magically self replenishing bag likke his, but with only different varieties of soda. Mostly root beer, but I was fine with that as I liked root beer.

Then Xirc and B came running back.

"We need to go, asap." B said, panting, "bad guys, lots and lots and lots of bad guys."

"With a highly trained bounty hunter/warior leading them," Xirc added helpfully, "dude was decked out in this weird shadow armor..."

I nodded and woke up Annabelle with a tap, that's all it really took. I told her the situation and that we needed to get going. We packed fast and were just about to book it when the first wave of enemies stepped out and surrounded us. An almost scared breath escaped me. Orcs. Almost nobody ever even saw orcs in Skylands unless somebody REALLY bad was calling on them. Which meant we were dealing with more than the usualy Kaos bounty hunter.

"This does not seem good," I said, using my draconic eye to pear far into the forest around us, only seeing more and more orcs, "they just don't end..."

"I didn't even know there were orcs in Skylands," Annabelle said, seemingly ready to fight, "let alone this many."

"That's because there normally aren't," a voice said as a man in a pitch black suit of lightweight armor and a stonecold face like a laywer or a poker player appeared from the shaodws, "they were pulled here from other worlds. They are quite the cruel monstrosties, and highly loyal to any evil being powerful enough to control a large amount of them."

One specific orc, bigger and meaner than the rest came and stood by him and the two began to make a series of terrible growling, snarling, howling noise at eachother. The orcish language it one of pure cruelt, animalisticness, and stupidity. Regrettably, I understood it well enough to follow the conversation they had.

"You did well, Glothruk," said the man in black, orc names always either sounded, stupid, disgusting, or both. Usually both.

"Of course, there is no prey we could not find and capture," Glothruk said, laughing, "and a part of the limitless power you say the lead worm has will be a worth while reward."

"It is, my friend," the man in the shadow suit snarled, "when we extract it our king shall rule all worlds in the very multiverse, with with Skylands as his center of control."

"Uhm," I said, in english because I hated speaking orcish, "you know I can understand you and that I don't have whatever fizing power everybody keeps saying I have, right?"

"Don't even try the whole 'even weaker than I look bit', runt," the man said also in english again, "we know all about your little ploys. Now, before he starts really using that irritating mouth of his, grab him!"

The orcs moved in, we all drew are weapons (even Annabelle had gotten a a bow and quiver full of arrows recently) and started fighting off the seemingly endless horde of evil monstrosities. But the just kept coming. Shadow suit guy laughed as he watched, then suddenly vanished. I looked around for him and suddenly my blood ran cold when I saw him. He had grabbed Annabelle and was holding her facing me with an obsidian knife at her throat.

"Enough!" He yelled and the orcs and my three friends stopped, "now surrender yourself or I'm afraid your friend here won't live much longer. And don't even try one of your famous plans, you're still surounded."

"Let. Her. Go." I growled out, my draconic eye starting to glow bright and a heat begining to build in my chest and make its way up my throat.

"Oh now, I can't do that," he said, moving the knife a bit closer to her throat, "you still haven't-"

"NOW." I said, louder, the heat building more as my next exhale let loose a small wisp of smoke.

"Make, me," he laughed and moved the knife slightly.

I saw a single drop of blood move across it and I started making aa very angry sounding noise loud enough by my enemy as my right eye glowed like a burning ember.

"Oh no," B said, backing up from me slightly, "now you've done it."

Xirc hid behind him as Sage made a definate laughing sound and said, "finally."

The orcs and their leader seemed highly confused by what they meant for a moment, but suddenly I felt the heat burn hotter inside me and flames lit around my chest, and began spreading outward. My clothes didn't even singe from the flame, but Everwhere they touched on my, something changed: my skin became bronze colored scales, my fingers and towes enlongated and grew sharp claws, my muscles became more definate and with clearer tendons, my neck enlongated and my face turned into a reptilian snout, I grew horns on my head as a tail grew out behind me. Then to finish it, to great, leathery wings erupted from my back and spread to their masive full span. The only way you could tell I was the same was that my left eye was still that same brown, human eye as it was before and my right was still the orange dragon eye. I threw back my head and loosed an enraged, monsterous roar that could be heard for miles upon miles and was ocumpanied by a jet of bright blue flames into the sky.

I turned towards the man in the shadow suit. He dropped Annabelle, who Xirc quickly grabbed and moved out of the way, and pointed his knife at me. In his hands it became a huge battle axe, which he held like a master among masters. I smiled and folded my wings to make myself manuverable, finally some real Fun.

He lunged, but at the last second I vanished in a small burst of fire and reapeared behind him in the same way and knocked his legs from underhim. His weaponed morhped into a spear and he stabbed at me from the ground, I grabbed the spear shaft and forced it down. He used the momentum to fly into the air, his weapon becoming a hammer as he crashed down. My tail snapped, quick as a whip, and knocked him out of the air.

The orcs were moving in on my friends, taking the oppurtunity of my distraction. I unfolded my wings and after giving them a single flap I was in the air. I felw over the orcs and rained fire down them, causing them to retreat, before I soared upwards and flew downwards into a headbutt to the gut of my oponent who had now gotten back up from my earlier blow. He leapt to his feat, a little dazed as my horns were powerful, but he lunged faster than he should have been able to and the blade of what was now a sword connected with my torso, a blow that should've cut a normal human in half easily, but mearly glanced off my skin. I snickered and smirked.

"That tickled," I chided, then added a verse Sage had made up a while agao with a laugh, "there is no poison that can kill me, no blade can pierce my hide, bullets and arrows deflect off me, and the noose failed when it was tried."

He struck at me with more forms of his weapon, each harmlessly glancing off or any actual wound that was caused healed instantly. I got one of the blows midstrike.

"I've had enough of that." I said with a shake of my head, then I opened my mouth and let loose a jet of fire, a blindingly bright white this time, and when I was done, only his armor and weapon were left and they melted into the shadows.

The orcs stared at me in horror for a moment but Glothruk screamed.

"What are you waiting for?! Get him!" He yelled at the other orcs. They rushed at me and jumped at me. I tossed alot of them aside with my heightened dragon strength, and burned alot, but they kept coming. Eventually I was at the bottom of a doggy pile of orcs.

"Even one of your kind can't withstand an army of orcs!" Glothruk laughed. Then suddenly he made a choking noise as he saw the white light building underneath the pile of his troops. Suddenly, there was an explosion from under the pile, the orcs ontop of me flew everywhere and I stood up and cracked my neck as a wave of strange energy surged from me. It passed Annabelle and the others by harmlessly, but the instant it touches each orc they disintegrated and vanished from existance after it had spread out past the area I started at Glotrhuk who I had made the wave spare.

"Tell your boss we were killed in the fight," I spat, "that way he'll leave us alone."

He nodded frantically and scrambled away. I instantly slumped, looking tired and turned towards Annabelle.

"Are you alright?" I asked, my hear pounding.

"Yeah, just a scratch," she said, staring at mewide eyed.

_Here it comes_, I thought, _she's gonna hate me now. _I sighed and was about to prepare to have my heart crushed when she hugged me.

"W-what?" I asked slowly

"Sage told me that you did all that just because they just barely scratched me..." She looked up at me, then looked away a second. I thought I saw something similar to hope in her eyes.

"Of course," I said, I thought for a moment on the look in her eyes and decided it was time to reveal another secret I had, "I protect everything that I love, and well...I love you"

It felt strange to finally say it out loud. Not bad strange, but still strange. I felt like she might be angry for a second but she just hugged me tighter.

"I love you too," she smiled at me.

My mouth dropped open for a second as Sage chuckled. She felt the same about me as I did about here. That was incredible as far as my life went. I smiles at her, and I hugged her back, the first time I had ever hugged anybody in fourteen years, more than double the time I had been on the run. And then, I looked at her with a smile and decided two things; that I wasn't going to hide my true shape anymore, and to preform an certain action at that moment. I followed through with the second one first, of course. I did something I had been dreaming of doing for almost two months but had never worked up the courage to do so.

I kissed Annabelle.


End file.
